Sewer in Memphis
There will be an increase on customers’ Memphis Light, Gas, and Water (MLGW) bills beginning January 1 to fund improvements to the city’s stormwater and sewer systems.
The Memphis City Council voted Tuesday to approve an increase of the stormwater and sewer fees that shows up on customers’ monthly MLGW bills.
In January, stormwater fees will initially increase from $4.02 to $4.64 per unit, while the sewer fees will go from $2.27 to $2.87 per unit each month.
The plan is to continue to raise the fees in phases over the next five years, totalling an overall increase of 50 percent from the current costs.
After January, stormwater fees will see its next increase in July 2019, as the fee will raise to $5.25, and then finally to $6.03 in July 2022.
The next increase phase for sewer fees will not be until January 2020 when the fee will raise to $3.32.
At the end of the five year period, the Council says on average a customer will spend about $9 more each month— $108 more per year— on stormwater and sewer fees.
City Council Chairman Berlin Boyd says although he and other Council members realize the increase in fees will not be a “cost easily absorbed by every citizen,” these increased rates are necessary to fund the more than $150 million in stormwater projects and finance over $872 million for the sewer system.
